Touch Spray Head Segmented Valve Mechanism
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional touch spray heads are costly, complex, and prone to contamination due to manual operation, and existing solutions like infrared sensors are unreliable and costly to maintain.
Innovation Solution
A touch spray head design featuring a tubular part connected to a fixing cylinder with a manual operation device, allowing for touchless operation and multiple water spraying modes, reducing fabrication costs and avoiding contamination.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a conventional control valve is used for a spray head, then the water supply can be controlled, but the manufacturing cost is high and the structure is complicated
Solution Approach 1:
The control valve is divided into separate functional components: a valve body, a movable valve element, and a control mechanism. This segmentation allows each part to be manufactured independently using simpler processes, reducing overall manufacturing cost while maintaining the water supply control function.
Solution Approach 2:
The complex internal mechanisms of conventional control valves are extracted and replaced with a simplified manual operation device that uses basic mechanical components. This extraction of essential function from complex structure reduces device complexity while preserving water supply control capability.
2Ease of operation
If the touch control valve is manually operated by touching the actuation element, then water supply can be controlled, but the actuation element becomes contaminated
Solution Approach 1:
A protective cover or barrier is introduced as an intermediary between the user's hand and the actuation element. This intermediary allows the user to operate the valve while preventing direct contact and contamination of the actuation element, thus maintaining ease of operation while eliminating contamination.
Solution Approach 2:
The actuation element is extracted from the main valve body and positioned in a location that is less susceptible to contamination, or a separate actuation mechanism is used that does not require direct manual contact with the valve components.
3Ease of operation
If infrared sensors are used for automatic control, then touchless operation is achieved, but the device becomes costly and unreliable when the sensor or circuit board breaks
Solution Approach 1:
The electronic infrared sensor system is replaced with a purely mechanical actuation mechanism. This mechanical system achieves touchless operation through lever arms, linkages, or other mechanical advantage systems that can be actuated remotely without electronic components, thereby eliminating sensor failure risks while maintaining simplicity and reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of using expensive and fragile electronic sensors, a simple, inexpensive mechanical actuation system is employed that can be easily replaced if needed. This approach prioritizes reliability through simplicity, using basic mechanical components that are inherently more reliable than electronic sensors in harsh environments.
4Adaptability or versatility
If a handle and central shaft are used to control water supply, then temperature adjustment is possible, but the operation travel is too long and aesthetics are compromised
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of using a long-travel handle that rotates a central shaft, the control mechanism is inverted to use a short-travel actuation element that moves linearly or rotates through a small angle. This inversion of the control mechanism achieves the same temperature adjustment function with minimal operation travel, improving both ease of operation and aesthetics.
Solution Approach 2:
The control mechanism uses dynamic elements such as cam profiles, levers, or linkages that amplify a small input movement into a larger internal valve displacement. This dynamic mechanism allows for compact operation travel while maintaining full temperature adjustment capability through mechanical advantage.
Data Source
AI summary
A touch spray head is removably connected on an outlet of a faucet body and contains: a casing, a fixing cylinder, a water valve, and a manual operation. The casing includes a surrounding fence, an accommodation space, and a through hole. The fixing cylinder is housed in the accommodation space and includes an inlet segment communicating with the outlet, an outlet segment, at least one first orifice defined between the inlet segment and the outlet segment, and a receiving zone. The water valve is accommodated in the fixing cylinder and includes an operation bar touched to movably turn on the water valve. The manual operation device is housed in the receiving zone and the through hole, and the manual operation device includes a driving portion formed in the through hole so as to be driven by a user to actuate the operation bar to move.